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Theranos Is Laying Off 155 People, About 41 Percent Of Its Workforce (cnbc.com)
The embattled blood-testing company Theranos is laying off 155 people, about 41 percent of its workforce, as it struggles to recover from the backlash generated when the company failed to provide accurate results to patients using its proprietary blood test technology. The job cuts announced today are similar to the cuts announced last year in October, when the company said it would shut down its blood-testing facilities and shrink its workforce by more than 40%. CNBC reports: The start-up will let go of its workers after months of regulatory setbacks as well as lawsuits and scrutiny. That would leave 220 workers to focus on its business plans, primarily its blood testing product called the miniLab. "These are always the most difficult decisions; however, this move allows Theranos to marshal its resources most efficiently and effectively," Theranos said in a statement.
I spent a fair amount of my life as a licensed medical testing professional. Theranos based their technology purely on using the blood sample from a finger stick (puncture). When you puncture skin like that you are also cutting open the cells of the tissue in the finger tip which leaks the cell contents as well as clotting factors into your sample. Most tests are done on circulating blood that are assumed to have a very low concentration of cell contents. An example is that sodium is high concentration in the blood and low concentration inside of cells. Potassium is the opposite with low concentration in the blood and high concentration in the cell contents. Hence, when you mix the two in a finger stick puncture it will be inaccurate by definition.